Considering the sport of baseball, for example, most people can hit a ball with a bat without much difficulty. However, to properly hit the ball with maximum transfer of energy from the bat to the ball, a batter must have a proper stance and stride. The proper stance and stride, in turn, are dependent on the batter's individual dimensions, in particular, the length of his arms, his stride and his bat. Whether it is baseball, softball, or any other activities involving contact between a ball and a bat, the proper swing involves intricacies in timing, and the position of the batter in relation to a home plate or batting tee.
Many devices are known to instruct individuals in swinging a bat, a golf club, or even a racquet. However, generally such devices are either too cumbersome or too complicated for frequent use by younger participants. As such, these devices may require substantial adult participation for assembly and use. Moreover, many of these devices must be frequently repositioned to maintain a proper distance from the home plate or batting tee. In addition, many of these devices pose safety hazards as they have protruding or extending members which may trip or otherwise injure the participants.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the training aid comprises a body for providing a substantially planar surface where the surface comprises a home plate indicium and a stance indicium positioned adjacent the home plate indicium to provide a plurality of feet positioning sectors for indicating a proper stance for batting. The present invention may also provide a plurality of stride indicia which extend outwardly from the stance indicium to indicate a proper stride in accordance with the proper stance.
The home plate indicium provided by the present invention renders moot the need to otherwise provide for a home plate reference. More importantly, the inclusion of a home plate indicium on the surface of the training aid body ensures that the stance indicium remains at a constant predetermined distance from the home plate indicium for enabling the batter to maintain a particular physical relationship with the home plate indicium when he bats.
Also, the present invention provides for distinct locator symbols in each of the feet positioning sectors so that after determining the stance most suited to him, the batter can repeatedly position himself without difficulty. This is particularly helpful to the younger participants where once their individual proper stances have been determined, each youngster can easily recall his predetermined locator numbers or letters of the alphabet to properly position himself on the stance indicium.
Instruction indicia, for example, diagrams illustrating use of the present invention, are also provided on the body of the training aid. The diagrams are simple and easily understood. As such, they instruct participants of all ages on how to properly use the training aid for determining the proper batting stance and stride.
In addition, the construction of the present invention enables easy transport and maintenance. In one embodiment, the body is composed of material that is light, flexible, washable, and substantially waterresistant. In such a form, the present invention can be effortlessly carried and cared for by youngsters.
These as well as other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows, considered together with the appended drawings.